


Little Games

by TariSilmarwen



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, sort of an in-between Tales of Ba Sing Se and Lake Laogai, zuko is just kind of awkwarding around jin here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22186300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TariSilmarwen/pseuds/TariSilmarwen
Summary: Zuko just did not understand his uncle's insistence in his entertaining and indulging Jin's obvious crush on him by arranging for them to spend time together.
Relationships: Jin & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	Little Games

Jin leaned over the board, studying it intently as she considered her next move. Across from her, Zuko was slouched in his seat, staring off at the wall with his arms crossed.

This was ridiculous.

All right, so it wasn't exactly like he didn't _like_ Jin. She was a really sweet girl, and maybe he kind of agreed that she was pretty. But he just did not understand his uncle's insistence in his entertaining and indulging this girl's obvious crush on him by arranging for them to spend time together.

He didn't have _time_ to "date".

Of course the fact of the matter was that, as one of thousands of Ba Sing Se refugees, he had nothing _but_ time, since as of yet no sign of the Avatar had appeared, which meant Zuko couldn't go out looking for him, which meant Zuko couldn't capture him, which meant Zuko couldn't present him to his father and return to the Fire Nation with honor, which meant he was stuck here playing pai sho with cute girls that he didn't know how to talk to.

The game had been Iroh's idea, of course. His uncle was always trying to get him into pai sho, with varying degrees of unsuccess. Zuko didn't mind so much this time. It meant he didn't have to talk all that much.

What _did_ you say to a pretty girl anyway? He and Mai had mostly just exchanged shy "Hi"s and "Hey"s and the occasional commiseration about palace life (the pinching clothes, the droning tutors, the _endless_ lessons to sit through!) and what new thing Azula had done that was so awful.

He couldn't exactly bring up his psycho Fire Princess sister as a topic of conversation in this setting.

Jin straightened as she decided on her course of action, gently tapping a tile and sliding it down the board. She sat back with a smile.

"Your turn," she told him brightly.

At least once of them was having fun.

Zuko peeled himself up from his slouch and took a look at the board.

Huh. She'd actually made a pretty smart move.

"Hmm…" he considered, scrutinizing his options before drawing a piece from his stack and placing it on the board.

Apparently seizing the opportunity, Jin smacked a piece down to block him with a little clack of triumph. Zuko was left staring at the board in disbelief.

Feeling awkward, he unpeeled his tongue from the roof of his mouth and said, "Uh… well played."

Jin offered him a beam. "Best two out of three?" she suggested.

At his shrug, Jin began to sweep the pieces off the board and rearrange the piles. As she set up for a new game, Zuko relaxed in the silence. The tea shop was slow today, only a few people in the corners. Iroh was somewhere behind the counter, humming as he brewed. Jin's hair was loose today, falling around her shoulders in shaggy waves.

It was actually kind of nice.

"Do you play very often?" Jin asked him, looking up briefly.

"A little, with my uncle." Zuko made a grimace. "I'm not very good," he admitted.

"That's okay. I'll go easy on you," Jin said, playfully twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She sat back, the board ready for another round. "You want first move?"

"Sure," Zuko sighed, ignoring his uncle as Iroh winked at him from across the tea shop.


End file.
